Your Palm OS handheld can join in on the Ubuntu fun. Learn how to install applications on your Palm or Treo, keep it in sync with Evolution, and back it up.
Getting a Palm OS PDA to synchronize with Linux has usually involved some amount of effort, and some pain installing and configuring the necessary software. The folks working on Ubuntu have made it easy, however. Ubuntu includes all the software necessary to synchronize your Palm with Evolution and do almost everything you've done under Windows.
Configuring Palm Synchronization
Since the Ubuntu and Evolution developers included the gnome-pilot package in Ubuntu, there's no software that needs to be installed. Everything you need is on your system; it just needs to be configured to sync with your Palm.
To begin the configuration process, start Evolution, click on the Edit menu, and select Synchronization Options.
Next, gnome-pilot displays the Cradle Settings dialog. Put values corresponding to your Palm and your system in this dialog box. For instance, USB-equipped Palms will probably sync using port /dev/ttyUSB0 and a speed of 115200, and they will require the USB radio button to be selected. Older, serial Palms will probably need the port set to /dev/ttyS0 and a speed of 57600, and they will need the Serial radio button selected. Click on Forward to continue.
Now it's time to identify the Palm. If you've synchronized your Palm with another PC or operating system before, select "Yes, I've used sync software with this pilot before." If you have never synchronized your Palm, select "No, I've never used sync software with this pilot before." If you select No, ensure that your User Name is set to something you'd like the Palm to have embedded in it. The ID string doesn't require any changes or editing. Click on Forward to move to the next step (initial sync).
At this point, you'll be prompted to press the Hotsync button on your Palm. Press it, and you should hear a couple of quick beeps from the Palm. Click Forward to move on to the next step.
The next screen will asks you to enter a descriptive name for your Palm and a directory path. It defaults to MyPilot; you can leave it at the default or change it as we have.
You're now done configuring the Palm sync method. Click on the Apply button commit the configuration.